What are the responsibilities and job description for the Internship: Bachelor and Master of Social Work position at Hennepin County?
The Children and Family Services (CFS) area of Hennepin County's Human Services and Public Health (HSPH) is seeking several social work interns to participate in a part-time or full- time internship opportunity for the fall block or academic school year.
Bachelor of Social Work interns:
Interns will be mentored by a Child Services Worker (CSW) within a Child Protection (CP) Ongoing Case Management unit. CSWs work to ensure that the physical, educational, medical, cultural, mental health and general well-being needs of children in out of home placement are met while the family is receiving child protection services. A particular emphasis will be securing out of home placements for children who are ordered into out of home placement and need foster care and continuous placement. Additional expectations include working effectively in teams with other social workers, foster parents, therapists, Guardians ad Litem, medical community, and other professionals. Knowledge, skills and abilities will reflect the role of a Child Services Worker in the child welfare system.
Master of Social Work interns:
Interns will be placed in various units: Adoption, Child Foster Care Licensing, Child Protection Intake and Screening, Child Protection Investigations, Child Protection Ongoing, Child Protection Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Family Group Decision-Making, Kinship, or other related areas.
Current Hennepin County employees who refer a candidate hired into an open competitive position may be eligible for a $500 referral bonus. For more information visit employee referral program.
Pay will be based on the intern’s educational degree program:
Bachelor of Social Work: $22
Master of Social Work: $23
Location and hours:
These positions are hybrid and will be performed on-site at various satellite offices throughout Hennepin County, and remote as job duties require. Interns are scheduled to work a flexible work shift Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. that could include occasional evenings and weekends as determined by interns and field instructors. Some positions may involve working in a 24/7 environment including overnights and weekends if interning in Child Protection Intake and Screening.
Interns will either work part time at 20 hours a week or full time at 40 hours a week to meet requirements as determined by their university and program.
These internships are intended to begin mid-August 2025. The end date will be determined whether full-time or part-time hours are chosen.
While these positions are designated as hybrid, based on current requirements hires must relocate or reside in Minnesota or Wisconsin.
About these position types:
These positions are part-time or full-time limited duration, non-benefit earning internships.
These positions are internally classified as an Intern II.
Click here to view the job classification specification.
Note: You must attach a resume and cover letter with your application materials to be considered for this position.
In the Bachelor of Social Work position, you will:
In the Master of Social Work position, you will:
Have responsibilities specifically related to one of the areas below:
Adoption: This area works on placing and identifying permanent adoptive families for children who become available for adoption. Learn more about Adoption at Hennepin County.
Child Foster Care Licensing: This area is responsible for the recruitment, licensing, training, and retention of foster homes to be used as placement resources for children in need of out of home care. The internship for this position will last one year in duration and requires a valid driver's license. The intern for this area will be working on two projects. Learn more about Foster Care Licensing.
Child Protection Investigations: This area conducts investigations and assessments of alleged child maltreatment reports.
Child Protection Ongoing: This area provides direct social work services to families in which abuse or neglect has been reported in order to carry out the statutory mandate to investigate, protect children from further harm, and safeguard and enhance the welfare of abused/neglected children.
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA): This area provides supports and services to Native American families and are responsible for complying with the mandates contained in the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act. There are two specialized tracks for this unit: ICWA Investigation and ICWA Ongoing Case Management.
Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM): This area is a family-centered, strengths-based, and culturally relevant approach to engaging families. FGDM promotes the collaboration between the family and the agency by gathering parents and extended family to thoughtfully plan for the protection and safety of their children. This process provides families a true voice in decision making and is most effective when it is deeply embedded into practice. It helps build trust with families as they are significantly involved in decisions that affect their family dynamics. Facilitated family meetings are a key strategy for improving family-centered practice and reducing disproportionality.
Kinship: This area is responsible for the identification and assessment of relative and kin resources for children who have been court ordered into out-of-home placements.
Need to have:
Nice to have:
About the department:
Human Services delivers a variety of services to individuals or families that assist with basic needs or encourage client change around specific objectives. We work with individuals as well as systems and communities to develop policy and advocate for the people we serve. The people we serve, and our communities are connected. By helping one, we help the other.
About Hennepin County:
This posting may be used to fill current and future vacancies.
This position may have access to systems or other documentation that contains HIPAA data.
Invitations to interview will be based upon an assessment of education and experience.
Final candidates will be required to pass a background check and urinalysis post interview.
Watch this video for application best practices and tips.
Hennepin County values employee retention and engagement through a culture of individual development. If you are a current employee looking for an internship you are responsible for communicating and seeking approval from your supervisor/manager on an arrangement on schedule and workload prior to accepting the paid internship position. The compensation for the internship will be paid at the amount advertised in this posting.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Pajoua Chang
Pajoua.chang@hennepin.us
Bachelor of Social Work interns:
Interns will be mentored by a Child Services Worker (CSW) within a Child Protection (CP) Ongoing Case Management unit. CSWs work to ensure that the physical, educational, medical, cultural, mental health and general well-being needs of children in out of home placement are met while the family is receiving child protection services. A particular emphasis will be securing out of home placements for children who are ordered into out of home placement and need foster care and continuous placement. Additional expectations include working effectively in teams with other social workers, foster parents, therapists, Guardians ad Litem, medical community, and other professionals. Knowledge, skills and abilities will reflect the role of a Child Services Worker in the child welfare system.
Master of Social Work interns:
Interns will be placed in various units: Adoption, Child Foster Care Licensing, Child Protection Intake and Screening, Child Protection Investigations, Child Protection Ongoing, Child Protection Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Family Group Decision-Making, Kinship, or other related areas.
Current Hennepin County employees who refer a candidate hired into an open competitive position may be eligible for a $500 referral bonus. For more information visit employee referral program.
Pay will be based on the intern’s educational degree program:
Bachelor of Social Work: $22
Master of Social Work: $23
Location and hours:
These positions are hybrid and will be performed on-site at various satellite offices throughout Hennepin County, and remote as job duties require. Interns are scheduled to work a flexible work shift Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. that could include occasional evenings and weekends as determined by interns and field instructors. Some positions may involve working in a 24/7 environment including overnights and weekends if interning in Child Protection Intake and Screening.
Interns will either work part time at 20 hours a week or full time at 40 hours a week to meet requirements as determined by their university and program.
These internships are intended to begin mid-August 2025. The end date will be determined whether full-time or part-time hours are chosen.
While these positions are designated as hybrid, based on current requirements hires must relocate or reside in Minnesota or Wisconsin.
About these position types:
These positions are part-time or full-time limited duration, non-benefit earning internships.
These positions are internally classified as an Intern II.
Click here to view the job classification specification.
Note: You must attach a resume and cover letter with your application materials to be considered for this position.
In the Bachelor of Social Work position, you will:
- Collaborate with child protection social workers (CPSWs) to support placements to address administrative tasks, and work with internal and external partners to increase child well-being as needed on cases.
- Attend court hearings, if required, and discussions with County Attorneys (CAs) and CPSWs regarding case updates.
- Make field visits to clients' homes in collaboration with the CPSW (CPSW should still be seeing the children on cases even with a CSW assigned).
- Provide support to children and/or youth on assigned cases.
- Design and partner with the CPSWs with the follow through on case and treatment plans.
- Make referrals to appropriate community resources and arrange for services while interpreting social and emotional factors to other's involved in treatment of children/youth.
- Other duties as assigned by the Social Work Unit Supervisor.
In the Master of Social Work position, you will:
Have responsibilities specifically related to one of the areas below:
Adoption: This area works on placing and identifying permanent adoptive families for children who become available for adoption. Learn more about Adoption at Hennepin County.
Child Foster Care Licensing: This area is responsible for the recruitment, licensing, training, and retention of foster homes to be used as placement resources for children in need of out of home care. The internship for this position will last one year in duration and requires a valid driver's license. The intern for this area will be working on two projects. Learn more about Foster Care Licensing.
- The first project focuses on strengthening the licensing program to be more responsive and supportive to LGBTQ youth in placement and foster care providers. This includes:
- Reviewing and assessing the licensing program’s training, forms, policies and procedures, recruitment efforts, printed materials, virtual presence, resources, and doing research of work completed in other jurisdictions. for improvements/updates needed. Additionally, you may work with other programs in the department to do similar work to ensure their program is supportive and inclusive for LGBTQ internal and external stakeholders.
- Providing leadership for the LGBTQ Community of Practice (CoP) by facilitating leadership team meetings (select topics, prepare the agenda/minutes, create a survey) and co-facilitating the CoP, on a monthly basis. The CoP is for staff who want to meet and discuss issues, problems, and strategies to support and work with youth and providers who are LGBTQ as well as helping staff feel more confident in communicating with LGBTQ youth.
- Work with an organization, “All Children All Families” (a national initiative dedicated to promoting LGBTQ inclusion in child welfare) to help the licensing program meet the benchmarks of LGBTQ Inclusion to receive a seal of recognition.
- The second project focuses on licensing foster care providers. Social workers in licensing roles are critical to ensuring the safety, stability, and well-being of children in foster care. This includes:
- Assessing and licensing relative and non-relative foster care applicants.
- Managing a small caseload of relative and non-relative licensed providers with diverse backgrounds from a variety of communities.
- Matching non-relative licensed providers with children requiring foster placements.
Child Protection Investigations: This area conducts investigations and assessments of alleged child maltreatment reports.
Child Protection Ongoing: This area provides direct social work services to families in which abuse or neglect has been reported in order to carry out the statutory mandate to investigate, protect children from further harm, and safeguard and enhance the welfare of abused/neglected children.
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA): This area provides supports and services to Native American families and are responsible for complying with the mandates contained in the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act. There are two specialized tracks for this unit: ICWA Investigation and ICWA Ongoing Case Management.
Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM): This area is a family-centered, strengths-based, and culturally relevant approach to engaging families. FGDM promotes the collaboration between the family and the agency by gathering parents and extended family to thoughtfully plan for the protection and safety of their children. This process provides families a true voice in decision making and is most effective when it is deeply embedded into practice. It helps build trust with families as they are significantly involved in decisions that affect their family dynamics. Facilitated family meetings are a key strategy for improving family-centered practice and reducing disproportionality.
Kinship: This area is responsible for the identification and assessment of relative and kin resources for children who have been court ordered into out-of-home placements.
Need to have:
- Must be enrolled in one of the following for the fall academic school year 2025-2026:
- Current enrollment as a senior year level in a bachelor's degree program in social work from an accredited university and program.
- Current enrollment in a master's degree program in social work from an accredited university and program.
- Current enrollment in a Title IV-E Child Welfare Scholars Program at an accredited social work university and program.
- Access to reliable internet connection and self-supported hybrid office space.
- Access to reliable transportation.
Nice to have:
- Experience working with:
- Individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
- Computer applications such as Microsoft Office or Google equivalent products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams).
- Ability to:
- Communicate effectively both verbally and written.
- Work effectively with a culturally and increasing diverse client population.
- Attended trainings, courses, or seminars to expand understanding and appreciation of diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness.
- Knowledge of:
- Principles and practices of social work.
- Social work ethics.
- Interviewing and counseling techniques.
- County and community resources.
- Norms and values of varying cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
About the department:
Human Services delivers a variety of services to individuals or families that assist with basic needs or encourage client change around specific objectives. We work with individuals as well as systems and communities to develop policy and advocate for the people we serve. The people we serve, and our communities are connected. By helping one, we help the other.
About Hennepin County:
Hennepin is the largest county government organization in Minnesota. Our employees work every day to improve the health, safety and quality of life for our residents and communities. All of our jobs align with our mission to serve residents through transformative services that reduce disparities, eliminate inequities, and create opportunity for all and our vision of a community where all people are healthy, all people are valued, and all people thrive.
Hennepin County envisions an organization where our commitment to diversity and the reduction of disparities is fundamental in providing excellent service to our community.
Your future. Made here.This posting may be used to fill current and future vacancies.
This position may have access to systems or other documentation that contains HIPAA data.
Invitations to interview will be based upon an assessment of education and experience.
Final candidates will be required to pass a background check and urinalysis post interview.
Watch this video for application best practices and tips.
Hennepin County values employee retention and engagement through a culture of individual development. If you are a current employee looking for an internship you are responsible for communicating and seeking approval from your supervisor/manager on an arrangement on schedule and workload prior to accepting the paid internship position. The compensation for the internship will be paid at the amount advertised in this posting.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Pajoua Chang
Pajoua.chang@hennepin.us
internship2000
Salary : $22 - $23
